Field of the Invention
This invention relates to light sources particularly suitable for illuminating optical fibers, and more particularly to an assembly including arc-discharge lamp and reflector which efficiently transfers visible radiation and inhibits ultraviolet and infrared radiation between light source and fibers.
Numerous fiber-optic illumination applications require a light source that is capable of launching light flux into an optical fiber to propagate along the length of the fiber in low-order modes for long distance propagation, or in higher-order modes, for example, for lateral emission through the side surface of the fiber. Applications of the former type commonly use glass optical fibers, and applications of the latter type commonly use plastic optical fibers. For plastic optical fibers, care must be taken to minimize heat and ultraviolet radiation along with visible illumination because of the deleterious effect on plastic fiber materials of radiation at both ends of the spectrum around the visible spectrum. In addition, a light source for illuminating optical fibers ideally should supply all of the visible output flux to a focal point at which the end of an optical fiber is positioned for maximally efficient transfer of light flux into the optical fiber.